Thunderbirds Are go

Although this episode aired last Sunday May 24, 2015; it's still good to see that it will be re-run this Saturday.

What I found very rewarding is the character-dynamics that were explored and expanded when you have 3 principal characters stuck in a situation where they butt heads when they criticise/almost insult each other.

What I did not mention in my review from last week is that the Archeological Professor was voiced by Matt Zimmerman himself. The original Alan Tracy.

Funny thing that was pointed out by some fans is that the rendering for the professor looked like the original Alan if he had aged to that point.

While the use of the Thunderbirds themselves were a little restricted compared to previous episodes, it was more important that the characters were allowed to grow. The Tracys and their associates make Thunderbirds & International Rescue, not vice versa.

While Parker and Penelope provided some light-hearted humour in the original it was never to the extent where Parker could be this expressive and complain like most people that are scared to go to places they are not familiar with. Also, you have to enjoy his cynical and sarcastic nature as he's just saying what we're all thinking.

"Well "bully" for you then - Parker. after the Professor got over the closing wall in the Pryamid

That is one of the key aspects that is making this Generation work; humour. Not in the sense that it's just out-right comedy. It's more on the lines of that it's comedy where it's needed just to take some of the tension of the moment.

If my suspicions weren't close enough that this would be a soft-remake of SunProbe then this Preview all but confirms it.

The story of a mining core hurtling toward the sun is pretty copypasta from the original series about a scientific mission for a probe to go through a flare in the sun and collect material from said area to study back on Earth.

Which by the synopsis for this episode is just a modernised version.

This will also place a lot of pressure on International Rescue's youngest member. While is an exceedingly gifted pilot, the viewer has to remember that he is 16 years young.

But this is nothing new for Alan Tracy. Even in the original series he had to face situations before where we had to think and act maturely in order to complete a mission or to keep a cool in head dire situations. One Move and you're dead is such an example where his endurance was tested for a whole episode where he had to limit his physical movements so that the ultra-sonic generator would not cause the bomb to go off early on the bridge in San Miguel.

Also this will be the second episode this Season thus far that will primarily focus on him and Thunderbird 3 as Space Race entailed Alan having to keep a dormant space mine occupied whilst a kill-code was sought after from stopping it explode near civilian space-craft and a space station.

Those that remember the original episode will recall that this was the one of the few episodes that gave Tin-Tin the platform to show what she was capable of doing and that she could do the job as well as the Brothers.
Fast-Forward some 50 years and Kayo is in the same position heading into Space to aid in the rescue of the mining core from crashing into the Sun.
And this is what I like about Kayo; she is doing more of what Tin-Tin could have done. In theory it is the same character, but a name change for obvious copyright reasons; which to this day I'm a little surprised that the estate that owns the rights to Herge's Adventures of Tin-Tin have an issue with this Generation's in Thunderbirds and not the incarnation from the previous.

It looks like another homage to an episode from the original series will be the episode for next Saturday.

Sunprobe was a hair-raising experience in the previous Generation and there was so much tension it was almost uncomfortable.

With Probe heading straight for the sun due to a failure with the ship's close distance to the sun it required International Rescue with a two-pronged Rescue attempt with Tin-Tin (now Kayo), Scott & Alan racing through space in Thunderbird 3 with Brains & Virgil making an attempt from Earth on Mount Arkan (which I'm guessing was meant to be a mountain taller than Everest) with the Satellite Truck.

This time around sees a mining core on an asteroid whose direction goes deadly off-course requiring Kayo & Alan in Thunderbird 3 to head into deep space to avert a deadly crisis from happening.

It seems promising from the out-set. And it's taking a previous concept but tweaking it enough for the new age.

Warning: Will contain spoilers

This week's episode pretty-much confirmed my suspicions from my preview article which you can read here that this was going to be somewhat inspired by Space Odyssey in that an AI program hacks control of Thunderbird 5 away from John and he's left to work with what he has in order to get help from his family.

So we have Thunderbirds meets Space Odyssey 2001 with a little bit of Knight Rider as John is to battle his intellect and wits with EOS; an Artificial Intelligence Program that has evolved from computing code he originally wrote.

Space Odyssey 2001 for the reference to HAL with the light optical interface which the lights turn red at the end of the preview.

HAL 9000 from Space Odyssey 2001 (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

EOS (c) ITV Studios/Pukeko Pictures

The AI talks about self-preservation, which is where the Knight Rider reference comes in.

In the original 1982 series (which I refer to as KRG1) KARR, the Knight Automative Roving Robot was Wilton Knight's prototype but there was a major problem with his programming; he was programmed for only self-preservation unlike the original KITT, the Knight Industries Two Thousand which has Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics programmed in and he was programmed with the preservation of Human Life as his prime directive.

What I like that they are setting us for this Saturday is that John is essentially responsible for his own doing/misgivings.

It's like Tony Stark said in Iron Man 3

We create our demons - Tony Stark

Now, I am not trying to compare John Tracy with a Genius, Playboy, Billionaire, Philanthropist; but the comparison is fair that he has opened a Pandora's box with EOS who essentially becomes Thunderbird 5 in rendering John helpless as he's cut off from his Brothers whom have no idea that the person that is communicating with them via the Holo-com is not their Brother.

That said; it stands to reason that Artificial Intelligence would have reached a point where it would be to create computer-generated forgery of someone to dispel suspicion along with replicating their voice. Considering the type of tech that the 2060 the characters exist in with everything being as advanced as it is from Brains' robot, Max, to the vehicles and technology that is there for International Rescue and everything from Hospitals and commercial transportation.

It's also another reminder of what happens if Artificial Intelligence is allowed to become too self-aware and intelligent enough to become self-preserving and sees humanity as a threat.

You'd need only look at the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron story where he turns against his creators after spending 30 minutes on the Internet looking up the history of War on Earth or to when Sky-Net became Self-aware in 2003's Terminator: Rise of the Machines.

The idea is nothing new, but it is something that makes people think of what could happen if AI did decide that the best way to deal with the problem humanity has to eliminate it.

I grant, that's a very deep philosophical thought regarding this week's episode on Thunderbirds Are Go, but it's one that won't go away anytime soon.

warning: will contain spoilers

Character-building is once again at play and some much needed for Brains. What I like about this episode is getting a character out of his comfort-zone and for him to adjust in surroundings he's not used to.

If the last few episodes did not give you an adrenaline rush, then this one will more than likely will judging by the preview of Scott trying to coax Brains into sliding down from Thunderbird 1.I'm beginning to think that this Generation's Scott Tracy is almost like a prankster/troll in the way he attempts Brains to get to the train by pushing him and the facial expression he makes when he can hear the Engineer over the com like it's amusing to him. I could not stop laughing at implied troll-face he made at both segments, lol.

This is the complexity I like about Scott; he is as funny when he wants to be as he is serious. The original portrayal was very no non-sense and joked very rarely whereas this incarnation of the team leader of International Rescue is extremely quick-witted and charismatic.

On a more serious note; I'm glad that Brains is getting involved in a rescue at the scene as opposed to communicating technical data from Tracy Island.
It's amusing to see the reluctance of him not wanting to sail down the zipline just shows the limited to no field-work the engineer has with the Organisation.

But that said; that just makes for good comedic moments where the Genius who is at home in the Lab is out with the leader who makes him go to it against his will and is awkward to no end about it.

The attention to detail in the model set here is just amazing as usual and it's interesting that it seems that only Thunderbird 1 will be used for a rescue. As best to my knowledge I cannot recall Thunderbird just being used for as such from the original series.

With the exception of the Imposters, Thunderbird 2 at least was used in every episode.

So to only possibly see the reconnaissance rocket and not have her big green sister back her will be intriguing and exciting to see.

I will be honest; up until this trailer I didn't have any clue of the tone that the series was going to go with and the anticipation was at fever-pitch.

This is something I give ITV major credit for; keeping as much as possible under-wraps.

And then on Friday March 13, 2015; the wait was over!

In the near 60 seconds of the Official Trailer we got to see the updated Thunderbirds in action and the flow of animation of the Tracy Brothers as well.

But the one element that I did not see coming and gave me chills was near the end was hearing Peter Dyneley's iconic countdown as Jeff Tracy and finishing with "Thunderbirds Are Go" as Thunderbird 1 lifts off.

If I had any doubt whatsoever before seeing this trailer, they were quickly demolished by the taster of what WETA workshop had done.